Briton

Overview

The Briton was developed from the Starling, a small car made by the Star Cycle Co. Ltd. which was wholly owned subsidiary of Star Engineering Ltd., makers of the Star. In 1909 the Cycle Co. changed its name to Briton, and the 2-cylinder Starling was continued under the new name, together with a 10hp four. Briton was run by Edward Lisle Jr. son of Edward Lisle Sr who had founded the Star company and was still Chairman and Managing Director. The twin was dropped in 1911 and in 1913 Briton introduced a new 10hp 4-cylinder model with a capacity of 1750cc. In 1912 Briton production was moved from the Star factory to premises of its own in Wolverhampton.

Like so many other car makers, Briton flourished during World War I with military contracts. They entered the postwar market with two models of 4-cylinder light car, the 1373cc 9.8hp and 1743cc 10/12hp. They were expensive for their size and in 1922 the company went into liquidation.